Project long overdue( DIY KIT ADVICE NEEDED)
 

Hey guys.. I've been involved in the miata community for over 2 years and finally have the balls to go buy one for myself and start working on it. Anyway as far as the miata goes.. any NA miata will do.
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Okay so heres an update: I've now bought the

Bought:
1994 Mazda Miata
1.8 motor (spare)
XS Power Turbo Manifold (spare)
HKS Turbo Manifold
Stage 1.5 Flyin Miata suspension
E- Management Blue
E-management Harness
T25 Turbo:
FMIC +pipes+ bov + T bolt clamps + hoses
EMB Wire/CD
2.5 inch Exhaust
Total: $3635


Need
Clutch/Flywheel
Injectors
Boost gauge
Wideband
Downpipe
SS lines


Goal is $5000.00 including miata
Alright this is what i've got so far!:bigtu:

Make sure you step up the injectors so you can at least utilize the potential of the GT28RS. You may want to check out the Megasquirt forum here as well. They are not priced far off from the Emanage but offer a hell of a lot more flexability and control. If you are going to build an exhaust just go with a 3". Every turbo car I have been involved with that started with a 2.25" or 2.5" from the turbo back has picked up well over 20 whp and wtq going to a full 3".
The stock head gasket should be just fine. You will probably get tired of the chirpy HKS BOV. You probably won't like the drivabiltiy issues associated with venting to atmosphere. There are

Tial does not offer a 38mm BOV, only a 38mm wastegate. They do offer a 50mm BOV and if you are dead set on venting to atomosphere then the Tial is my favorite;) If you haven't picked up all your turbo goodies yet you may want to check out this thread for some pretty awesome pricing https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5352

If I have to listen to the sound of a BOV I will listen to the Tial all day long. Sounds like a whip cracking. Gets my fiance all hot ;)

No its not. Someone did a really good writeup on all the work involved in that conversion though. Crash something was his name.

Maybe look into the Mazdaspeed engine and diff mounts to keep everything in place. If I remember right its about $150 for both and makes a really nice difference in the solidity of the car.

The engine mounts and diff mounts are around $150 together I wanna say. For sure under $200. You may want to look into a torsen rear diff from a later car as well to get ready for all that power.

Why don't you start with a '94 with Torsen? Then you'll have the 1.8 and the good rear end.

Frank

:inout: He said what I was going to say. For what you plan to do immediately, it would be absolutely insane buying a 1.6L... :dancegay:

Buy a 1.8, it'll probably cost less too that way.

First, do you have a horsepower goal? You've listed all this great stuff you plan to buy, but you haven't told us your "plan" yet. What do you hope to get out of this stuff?

Second, a lot of your questions can be answered here: https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4288
Don't forget to read the rest of the sticky's on every page!

Third, I don't hear DP. Might as well go with the Begi DP while you're at it. There's nothing better on the market right now.

Fourth, The stock tranny will hold up fine. Check the ratios on the RX-7, they may not be compatible with the stock rear Miata ratios... and the stock 1.6 rear will not handle the power we're talking about. You will need a driveline upgrade immediately.

Fifth, skip the head gasket, you don't need it.

Sixth, boost controller. There's a group buy on the Tullos in the classifieds, can't do better for the money right now.

Seventh, consider Wideband. The LC-1 will plug into the EM and make tuning a snap.

Eight, gauges. You need a boost gauge and WB would be nice. Don't forget fuel pressure and perhaps EGT.

Ninth, don't forget to tell us your goal... and a budget would be nice.

Skip the head gasket.

Get a matching DP from Begi

Upgrade to a Rx7 will get you a cool clutch LSD, but you'll get the same strength from just upgrading to any 1.8 rear. Tons of info on this.

Since you are going EMB or EMU you might as well step the injectors up a bit.

Yes a power goal & budget would be helpful steering you into any particular direction.

I think someone should read my FAQ and just review some of the concepts behind turboing these little devils.

Nope, the torsen came on years 94-97, the M edition, C package, R package (maybe the Launa SE too?) but it was an option of several, the 93 LE probably had one too? I'm not an expert on every which model came with what, so hopefully someone will correct me...

No Torsen on the 93LE. Just the crappy 6" VLSD.

Updated guys check the original post

Thanks for setting me straight :)

If you're going with an EMU, get 450-550 injectors. You can pic up a T3 60/48 or t3 60/63 for under $150 with minimal shaft play. Worst casen you sent it off for $150 te get it rebuilt/balanced.

I thought the XS power mani was for a T28 flange? Or maybe a DSM flanged turbo?

Anyway,

Frank

What power are you aiming at?

I would forget the fuel pump and go bigger injectors---> 440cc or something. US guys seem to be super keen on upgrading fuel pumps, and i'm not sure why. Buying bigger injectors is much cheaper and gives the same result (to a point).

WE NEED A POWER FIGURE...

It looks to be T2 flange... Hot looking manifold... :cool:

http://xs-power.com/miata/index.html

well I'm more into making a reliably quick car that I can do well in the circuits so power isn't my priority as you can see but I would be very happy with 250whp or around there.

The rest look pretty much figured out.. this is what I need help deciding.

T3/T4 Turbo(advice)
Wastegate(ebay)
FMIC(ebay)
Bov(ebay)
Injectors (320cc-350cc)

untill it rips apart....

How long did it take for yours to come apart?
Mine (just like the XS above) was $60 never used from the first owner who feared using it. Both flanges were perfectly flat per a machinists edge. I've got almost 800 miles on mine and its sees max boost every time I go out (because I'm DLing for tuning). I wonder if track duty is what killed yours. A buddy of mine had racing mazda modify their tubular header with gussets and it still came apart after 3 20 minute sessions at a track event. I think the abuse a turbo setup sees at a track event is about 20 times what it gets on the street or at the strip. IMO that's where manufacturers need to test their parts if they want to know just how good they are. - rob

yes, the track killed my car twice. actually ripped a hole in my DP and completely warped and craked my manifold. Mild steel JGS log type.

I'm just saying the XS-power stuff is known to be thin and weak.

What's odd is the only Miata specific problems I've found with those manifolds are the flanges not being flat. Once fixed, they seem to work fine. Mine didn't need anything, except work to fit the FE3 (port widening, drill and elongate some bolt holes). I think Mark was going to or did run one. - rob

Just curious, what drove you off from GT28R turbo? Price?
I would look into moving wastegate port from #4 to a place where it releases pressure from all cylinders, especially on track use, where most of the time wastegate is open.

hrk

yeah the wg port is just dumb- looks like an afterthought, something to list as a feature and near useless.

yeah, that's a really bad place for the wastegate, all 4 runners should dump into it equally.

While it's true that the wastegate port is in a sucky location, the bottom line is that it will work, although I had to relocate mine to fit the 38mm Tial wastegate I have. The stainless steel is thick enough but the manifold is still suspect in my mind as mine showed up with warped flanges.

In reality, I think it's a better manifold than many give it credit for being. My car just started up yesterday but a new flange is getting welded on for the new turbo to the downpipe. It should be interesting to see how the Ghettocharger does. After all the turbo kit itself is extremely low buck.

I have a $200 Turbo, $250 Manifold (although I got mine for $0.) and a $200 intercooler with $75 in piping. Of course it's surrounded by a $2000 TEC-IIIR with 880cc/min injectors and a built 1.8 motor and head.

All total spent so far:

AEM WB $240
Tial Wastegate $200
Piping $75
Engine $1800
Intercooler $200
Turbo $200
Manifold $250
Engine Management $2000

Total $4965

Not exactly ghetto anymore. Removing the engine management and built engine, would reduce the costs to $1165 for the turbo kit so far.

Mark

PS - Damn, I could have purchased an FM kit. ;)

I don't think they're welding the tubes on with the flange bolted down, OR if they are they're unbolting it before it cools. These guys are probably being paid by how many headers the make a day.

It's crazy that your Chinese turbo is cheaper than my used turbonetics t3/t4 (or buying and rebuilding). I'm curious to see how it goes. I had a rebuilt t3/t4 that lasted about 30 seconds under boost. It used a Chinese center section with "supposed" Garrett internals. I took it apart and the internals were ground to crap. It looked like a tolerance issue to me (oiling setup is the same now w/o issue). Whether it was the rebuild or the casting, I don't know.

btw- as a bonus- if your Miata is ever stolen and thieves grind off your VINs, you've always got a serial number on your turbo for identification. ;) I wonder if they ask for the number if you have a need for warranty servicing? - rob

Well it's going to be interesting, obviously having good clearances is critical to it fundtioning properly. This has a "chinese" center section but looks so Garrett like that I can't tell the difference between it and the real thing. Outside the crude method of balancing it's hard to tell.

Now as far as it doing ok, so far so good... no boost on it, but it seems to be functioning ok, yes the car is running again. I should know more once the new flange is on the downpipe and the car ready for battle with the dyno.

As far as the turbo, it has a one year warranty, and I have about as much faith in that warranty as I do in the Dhali Lama coming to visit me.

Mark

So you guys are saying it is a cheap manifold? I wanted to go with the Begi but this came with the motor plus its brand new and looks good the welds and everything looks like a clean job. But the wastegate is in a bad area? I thought #4 cylinder was the most supposed to have the wg closest to it?

It is a cheap manifold, but the welds on mine looked ok, albeit the collector was a bit sloppy. The wastegate is in a suboptimal area. The wastegate should be attached at the collector, this should not prove to cause any problems it's just not the location your would chose given the choice to put it anywhere.

It should function fine for you, but in my case the Tial wastegate would not fit because it hit the valve cover. I had to cut it off and move it slightly so that I could use the Tial wastegate. I still have my Tial off the #4 runner.

So don't go thinking it's horrible, but I also had to relocate my water lines and power steering pump lines in order to run this manifold. It runs too close for my comfort to some pretty important lines.

Mark

Why don't you just put a heat shield on it? Btw I've been thinking about just changing the pistons+H Rods. Anybody mind throwing some brand names at me to give me an idea. Also what do you guys think about changing the pistons + H rods ?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

And not necessary if you are running sub 15PSI.

You could run 250 alright on the stock engine... 300 would have to be babied a bit, or it might not last long...

The B series engines are factory turbo engines and are boost friendly. Up to 15 PSI if you are kind to your engine (yes drive it hard, but don't thrash it) then it will have a few miles in it. 15 or over and it won't last long.

a buddy of mine has been running 270rwhp for five years on a 1.8, AVO turbo and Link ecu. He does about 5 track events a year and it still runs well. Good tuning does a lot for longevity.

I would have had the same issues Mark did with the manifold, but I had to modify all my coolant (rad/heater) lines anyway. The welds look good on mine, but the inside is not pretty. Both my flanges were flat by my machinists edge and haven't leaked since that last turbo install ~500 miles. And I've got no gasket between the turbine housing and header. I'm using internally gated turbo. I don't see any reason not to use this if you already have it. It really doesn't take much time to pull the entire turbo off the car. Just realize that once you do use it, everything attached to the turbo is relative to it's position based on the header. So if you swap, you'll changing all that stuff for the new header.

I'm glad to hear your friend is having such luck. I think i'm just going to slap on this kit for the time being then replace the internals + tranny + rear end after a few months. I really appreciate you guys taking your time to help me out with this.. I understand there have been tons of people who come here posting the same type of threads then after a few weeks dissapearing and not purchasing what they asked. But I can honestly tell you guys i'm going to be going through with this. I've decided to go with the GT28RS with this manifold I believe it should work. I'll be replacing all the hoses and t bolting everything with new gaskets and fluids to make sure it runs right. I'm curious to see who can tune this thing around here i've been part of the Toyota Supra community for about 5 years now and those guys are in 4 digit mark as far as HP and I know a few tuners for those cars in my area so maybe I can get one of them to tune this.



Update: I've updated the list of the original post so be sure to read and let me know what you think about the mods

Guys I've got an idea.. I'm thinking about building the bottom end of the 1.8 and having a 99+ head put ontop is that a good idea?

also I've updated the list I now have E-Management Blue :)

mind telling me where you can get a gt28rs ball bearing turbo for $300? Its not an ebay turbo is it?

good - yes. necessary - no. IMO, if you've got the dough to do it now before you get all the turbo stuff on, yeah, do it now.

updated guys... I need help with the stuff I need what clutch flywheel setup do you guys recommend and so on.


edit: man its funny to read some of my posts a few months back when I didn't know much about turboing a miata. Shows i've came along way.. lots of parts and a miata have been bought since then also